


Magical Heart

by reuni0n



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/F, Ficlet, theres only gudamash crumbs here im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:08:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28737753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reuni0n/pseuds/reuni0n
Summary: "If this is what being old is like I hope I don't get there."Holmes nodded, a small smile on his face. "A good attitude for the savior of mankind to have, certainly."Fate Week 2021 Day 3: Grail
Relationships: Fujimaru Ritsuka/Mash Kyrielight | Shielder
Kudos: 14





	Magical Heart

A girl dreams. 

A girl dreams of places she's never visited, of hands she's never held, of miraculous artifacts she's never seen before. 

A girl dreams of happy smiles, of vast green pastures she's never set foot on, of battles she never took part in. 

A girl dreams. She dreams of family, she dreams of people she holds dear. 

A girl wonders. Will these things I see ever be reality? Will I be able to help them become reality? 

A girl dreams, and sees herself skating, skating forever, on a sea of stars. 

\-----

The Shadow Border. Chaldea's new mobile base has a few certain quirks to it its ever reliable last Master was never really able to get used to. The continuous whirring and wheezing of machinery and engines in the background she's gotten used to without too much of an issue. The noticeably diminished crew that was now responsible for carrying out a much harder task? Sure, she's been against worse odds. The rations that now passed for food most days? That was fine, too. They hadn't had a chance to restock their fridges to put it lightly. 

The complete lack of a distinct day and night cycle however…that was a complicated thing to deal with. Of course, this wasn't the Shadow Border's fault as much as it was the nature of Imaginary Numbers Space, which is just about necessary in order to ensure their survival. Still though. 

Fujimaru looked at Mash currently sound asleep on the other side of what was now her (their?) bed and smiled. She also felt a pang of envy. Sleep didn't come easy to her, not before, and most certainly not now. Even with her cute soft eggplant nested up right next to her. So Fujimaru did what she always did on nights like these. Putting on the previously missing upper body half of her regular Mystic Code, she walked out of the room, hoping that a walk and some water would help. Mash softly stirred in bed, suddenly aware of the lack of another person's heat right next to her, but didn't wake up. 

Walking through the corridors of what was her home for the foreseeable future, she couldn't help but feel like it was all slightly alien, even if it all was clearly designed to resemble what used to be Chaldea. 

It's all so different these days. 

Making her way to what now was the cafeteria, she was surprised not at all to see her usual companion in nights like these. Noticing her presence, the slightly disheveled looking man made a quick and very poor attempt at making himself look as presentable and dignified as he usually did. Hard sell, though, seeing as his shirt was still unbuttoned almost halfway through and in front of him sat a bottle of liquor that had clearly been throughly exploited tonight, alongside a solitary shot glass. 

The man finally spoke up. "Ah, Miss Fujimaru. Care to join me?" 

"Are you offering me alcohol?" asked Gudako, giving him a very unimpressed gaze. 

"Why, of course not," said Holmes, quickly putting the bottle away. Not that it helped much given it was still clearly in sight, just held by the detective's hand under the table now. 

Fujimaru chuckled. "I'm of age now, you know. You can give me some of that." 

"Are you, now?" Sherlock asked, right eyebrow arching. 

"Yeah! Now gimme! I'm mature enough!" pleaded Gudako, making grabby hands at him. 

"Hmm. I don't know if that would be a wise idea," said Holmes, a gloved hand rubbing his chin. "I'm supposed to be a good example for you both." 

Fujimaru let out a laugh that came directly from her stomach. "Ha! The moment I start following the example of, ah, what was it? Right, the 'crackhead of Baker Street', is the moment we're all screwed," said the redhead in a mocking tone. 

Holmes laughed. "That implies that you're not already perfectly capable of killing us all, miss Fujimaru." 

Both of them smiled at one another (though Gudako's was more of a grin). Bickering as though they were siblings was something that neither of them was sure when had started, but they had gotten used to it a while ago. It was hard to keep track of time here. 

"Alright, fine," Holmes said, acquiescing. "Just one." 

As Holmes got up from his seat and went to look for another glass, Fujimaru took a quick peek at the bottle now back at its original position on the table. "Hey, where did this come from, anyway?" 

"It was on one of the supply crates we found here. I believe all of their contents come from the old Chaldea, and that this bottle in particular had been provided by a certain voyager of legend," Holmes said, sitting back down as he set the second shot glass right next to the first one. 

"Wait, is this Drake's rum? Are you for real?" 

"I believe so," Holmes said, pouring the two shots. "It's also been one of the few things keeping our Director sane." 

Fujimaru smirked. "Are we drinking our dear director's alcohol?" 

Holmes nodded. "To a connoisseur of all things fine in life, a liquor such as this, almost five hundred years old must be nothing short of a nectar descended from the heavens themselves." 

"Hehe." Fujimaru downed the shot with gusto and was met with regret almost instantly as the sharply bitter flavor made itself known. She had to resist gagging. "Oh, that's just gross. I'd rather never eat again than drink that one more time." 

Holmes smirked through his glass as he downed his own shot. "Where did all that bravado go, miss Fujimaru? " he asked, an amused expression on his face. 

Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, Ritsuka took a second to compose herself before speaking up again. "If this is what being old is like I hope I don't get there." 

Holmes nodded, a small smile on his face. "A good attitude for the savior of mankind to have, certainly." 

Fujimaru shot him an amused look, but didn't have anything to say to that. She sighed, the conversation having died now. 

"Something on your mind, miss Fujimaru?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Your file stated nothing about an insomnia problem, so your awake presence here must mean that there's a myriad of thoughts on your mind preventing you from sleeping. Am I wrong?" 

Gudako glanced sideways at him. "You are, unfortunately as usual, right. I don't know, man. Ever since Russia it's been hard for me to get a good night of sleep." 

Holmes nodded, giving her an understanding look. "I can see how that would be the case. Even without mentioning the battle at Yaga Moscow, the things you two saw on the Russian Lostbelt must have been shocking." 

Fujimaru waved her hand dismissingly. "Yeah, yeah. That was bad and all, but nothing we haven't seen before," she said as flashbacks of Shimosa and Salem flowed into her mind. Now that was some stuff she wasn't gonna forget anytime soon… "What's been keeping me up was mostly a conversation I had with Da Vinci, actually." 

"Oh? Which one could you be referring to?" 

"The baby one," Gudako said, looking with a hint of curiosity at the bottle of rum sitting before Holmes. Would it taste as bad if she tried it again? "She asked me if I had seen anywhere around something she spotted in the old workshop while going through her memories. A golden cup." 

"A Holy Grail?" 

Fujimaru nodded. "Yeah. I'm guessing the one she saw is the one I gave Da Vinci not too long after we returned from the London singularity." 

"Is that so," Holmes said, crossing his legs as he leaned in. 

Fujimaru slightly grimaced at him, leaning back as much as the solid steel chair would allow her. She never liked it when the legendary detective's eyes looked at her like that, like they could pierce through her very soul. "Don't look at me like that." 

Holmes relaxed, returning to his previous position as he chuckled. "Ahaha, sorry. Just an old habit," he said. "So, a Holy Grail. What of it? I believe it would hardly be the only one to go through your hands." 

"You'd be right," Fujimaru said as she bit one of her nails. "But Lily's question did leave me wondering. Where did that Grail go? I gave it to Da Vinci as a…mmm...as a token of gratitude, I think. Like, she's the only reason we made it out alive most of the time so might as well, you know? Even if that wasn't the case she's done so much for us, for me that…"

Holmes chuckled, his trusty pipe now on his mouth after being produced seemingly out of nowhere. "Miss Fujimaru, I believe the answer to your question might be more obvious than you realize." 

"Yeah?" Fujimaru said, looking at him with equal parts amusement and curiosity. "Illuminate me, then. What does the great detective's insight say?" 

Holmes closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them again they had a certain shine to them, the look of someone who had just reached the conclusion to a mystery. He cleared his throat. "Very well, then. Fujimaru, what do you think Holy Grails are made of?" 

She chuckled sheepishly. Holmes wasn't known for being direct. "I'm guessing the answer isn't 'gold', is it?" 

"Close, but no," Holmes said as he lit his pipe. "Golden containers of immense quantities of mana they may be, but Holy Grails are at their core the crystallization of hopes and dreams, you see. A physical manifestation of mankind's purest, deepest wishes. Dreams rooted deep within the heart." 

Gudako sighed. "Okay, you lost me. What are you trying to say?" 

Taking a drag from the pipe, Holmes went on as he felt the familiar taste of tobacco in his mouth. "It's simple, really. You gave Miss Da Vinci a Holy Grail. What would an individual such as her do with that kind of power?" 

Fujimaru rubbed the back of her head. "I don't know. Knowing her, probably turn it into something useful?" 

Holmes nodded. "Precisely. I believe she turned it into something that could be more helpful to the cause she believed in than any other creation of hers." 

Gudako blinked as something in her mind clicked. "Wait a second. You don't mean…" 

Seeing that his companion had reached the same conclusion as him, he smiled in agreement. "Yes. I believe that that Holy Grail is the thing responsible for the life of our, ah, collective little sister. If I were to make an educated guess, I'd say it would be such a fundamental part of her that she wouldn't even realize it's there, in the same way that humans don't notice their beating heart most of the time. "

Fujimaru didn't respond. Her gaze was firmly locked downwards, eyes glued to her shaking closed fists. Noticing the seemingly shook state of the girl sitting across him, Holmes cleared his throat, the elation of solving yet another case however small it may be all but gone. "Is everything alright?" 

"Yeah! Yeah," she said, her gaze rising, tears pooling in her eyes. "That's just so…that's just so like her, you know?" she claimed, voice shaky, tears beginning to flow down her face. 

Unsure of how to react, Holmes could do little but agree with her. "Mhmm. I'm not as well acquainted with her as you and Miss Kyrielight must be, but based on what I've heard she seemed like a truly exemplar woman." 

"That sounds like her," Gudako said, trying to wipe away the tears with her hands. "She was so smart, so caring…" 

"Yeah. I'd wish I had gotten the chance to know her better, the idea of after all this time meeting someone who could challenge me intellectually is exhilarating." 

Fujimaru grinned at him, a devious look on her face. "Are you calling us all dumbasses?" 

"In comparison to the Universal Man, I believe most people would be." 

"Ahaha, you're right…" Ritsuka said, before softly sobbing again. "Dammit, I miss her…" 

Holmes inhaled, suddenly very conscious of one of his greatest shortcomings in life. He had never been good at connecting with others, let alone comfort them. But his close friend was hurting, like back then, and he's not going to make the same mistake twice. Getting close to her, he pat her shoulder in a way that he hoped would be at least slightly reassuring. "She's not gone. At least not fully. Her will and spirit lives, quite literally, with us. As long as Chaldea manages to succeed and live to tell the tale, I believe she will be happy wherever she is now." 

Fujimaru softly laughed, her voice dripping with a certain sadness. "Ahaha...yeah. You're right. Absolutely right. For the sake of her hopes and dreams, and the love she had for humanity…we will survive." 

\-----

At the core of the Shadow Border rested a dreaming girl. 

A girl dreaming of her flying all over the cosmos, several figures behind her. She couldn't see their faces, but she didn't need to to know who they were. 

They all flew across the stars, all of them bearing a certain dream… 

The girl dreamed and dreamed, dreams of blue skies and happier days. 

The girl smiled in her sleep, her determination steeled. 

No matter what it took, if she had anything to say about it, those dreams would surely become reality. 

A girl dreams. She dreams of a beautiful world. 


End file.
